PROFIT SALES SWELL
For over three years running, Hobart has worn the crown for Australia’s lowest number of loss-making home sales, writes Jarrad Bevan.
AN amazing property market feat has become almost common in greater Hobart, a quarter of sales where not one home was sold for a loss.
In the latest Pain & Gain report from CoreLogic, the Derwent Valley and Sorell each posted a June quarter without a lossmaking home resale.
And Glenorchy was not far behind with just 0.7 per cent of sales failing to make a profit compared with the previous time these properties were sold.
In yet another sign of the pricing strength in the southernmost capital city, report author and head of research at CoreLogic, Eliza Owen, found that Hobart has had the nation’s lowest rate of lossmaking sales for 14 consecutive quarters.
The report revealed an increase in the rate of loss-making sales through the three months to June but it was only 2.7 per cent, up from 1.4 per cent in the previous quarter.
However, despite the increase in the rate of loss-making sales across Hobart, Ms Owen said these properties represented a “relatively low number”, and on average were older homes with a recent purchase date.
“Hobart also had the nation’s lowest differential between profit-making house and unit sales; 97.6 per cent of house resales made a nominal gain in the quarter compared with 96.6 per cent of unit resales.”
When reselling their properties, greater Hobart residents made a six-figure median profit regardless of which municipality they live in.
These profits ranged $185,000 in Brighton, which was up from $162,500 in the previous quarter to an eye-watering result in the Hobart LGA, $443,500 which was over $100,000 higher than the March quarter results.
Each of the seven council areas posted a percentage of profit-making sales in the 90s, alongside the two areas with a 100 per cent strike rate. Brighton saw 92.2 per cent of sales make a profit, 95.9 per cent in Hobart, 96.6 per cent in Kingborough, 97.4 per cent in Clarence and 99.3 per cent in Glenorchy.
The total of loss-making sales across greater Hobart was about $7.8m. There were so few sales at a loss that a median loss was not determined in the report.
The total value of the profit-making sales across Hobart zoomed to a gigantic $236 million which was led by $67m in the Hobart council area, $56m in Clarence, $39m in Kingborough and $37m for Glenorchy. In the June quarter last year, the profit-making total was about $150m.
Ms Owen said CoreLogic is monitoring a number of headwinds that may drag on, or even reverse housing market growth in the medium to long term.
‘These include affordability constraints, a tighter credit environment, a resurgence in listings volumes, and some economic factors including a slowdown in the resources sector,” she said.
About 106,000 dwelling resales were analysed for the June quarter Pain & Gain report with 91.5 per cent nationwide recording a nominal profit-making gain above the previous purchase price.
Percentage of all sales, Median hold period, Median profit, Total value of profit Brighton 92.2% 5.5 $185,000 $9,911,684 Clarence 97.4% 8.1 $310,000 $56,825,260
Derwent Valley 100% 7.1 $216,000 $8,555,640
Glenorchy 99.3% 8.3 $251,250 $37,499,667
Hobart 95.9% 9.6 $443,500 $67,602,180 Kingborough 96.6% 7.6 $279,500 $39,606,641
Sorell 100% 5.1 $231,000 $16,012,980 Source: CoreLogic